Summary:
Fagin's Gang. Danny's old gang. Nobody thinks much of them, but
can the grifters, masters of the long con, be taken down by the short
con?

You
Gotta Pick a Pocket or Two – Chapter 1

My
name's Dodger Bates. I'm in Fagin's Gang. The elite. Nobody's
ever left. Apart from Monks… and that was a long time ago.

Yes,
that's me. The one in the centre, with the top hat and cane. I am a
girl, although I may not look it.

The one
next to me is my brother, Charlie Bates. The one with the ginger
hair.

And
then there's Rose, the one with the flower in her blonde hair and
the shawl. Nancy's the one with the auburn hair, but don't hold
that as a good guide. It changes at least twice a week.

And
muscles in the corner, that's Toby.

Yeah,
this is Fagin's Gang… Mickey Bricks, you're going down!

Dodger
Bates pulled her hat over her eyes and nodded. All of a sudden, two
things happened. The girl that had been standing next to her broke
into a stumbling run, not helped by high heels and a long dress. The
boy that was standing over the other side began to follow. Rose began
to scream as she stumbled.

"Somebody
help me!" Charlie pelted out, grabbing her arm and running into the
nearest doorway – no coincidence there.

"Sorry
Missus!" Charlie knocked into a pretty young woman. "You gotta
help us! This young lady – sorry, miss, I don't know your name –
is being chased by a guy who's just broken out of jail!"

"It's
Sam Owen! Haven't you seen in the papers?" Right on cue, Toby ran
into the square, looking reasonably scary. Stacie noticed this and
grabbed Rose by the arm, tugging the two up to the Penthouse flat. As
soon as Stacie had disappeared from view, Toby gave Dodger and Nancy
a thumbs up and ran over to join them.

It was no
joke about Toby escaping from prison – that was completely true.
Sam Owen was a convicted rapist, who had been sentenced to twenty
five years. However, Fagin's Gang had broken him out after three
weeks and moved him to London. It didn't bother Dodger or Charlie
that their childhood friend was a rapist – he'd explained his
side of the story under the influence of Nancy's truth serum.

"What's
it like in there, Charlie?" Dodger hissed through a mouthpiece.

"Wow…
big. Monks has certainly done well for himself! And his team members
seem quite cool, he's not here at the moment, but neither is
Bricks. Everyone else is, and they're pretty decent." Came the
reply.

"Basically,
he means he fancies Monroe." Toby raised an eyebrow. "Tell him
not to take the Andy Holt way about it – oh yes, and the fact that
Bricks is involved with her could have some pretty serious
implications… Hang on a minute, Charlie, are you even sixteen yet?"
There were spluttered curses and swearwords for the answer. Nancy and
Dodger looked at each other in amusement.

"Knock
me down!" Charlie hissed. "Monks has just seen us and… yep, he
knows our game. Dodger, what the hell do we do?" Dodger was not the
leader of the little gang for nothing.

"We're
coming up, Charlie."

"Save
some champagne and caviar for us!" Toby mocked. Nancy didn't say
anything, but that was nothing unusual. The three youngsters could
have easily incapacitated the two men that were sent to get them, but
that wasn't orders.

"Well,
well, well…" The five members of Fagin's Gang stood in a
protective barrier against the five of Bricks'. "Nansy Bates.
Never thought I'd see you again after Sam went down for rape."
Stacie shifted nervously.

"Hullo,
me covey." Dodger spat, as Charlie held Toby back. "It's
Dodger. It's been Dodger for sixteen and a half years, so why do
you progress back into calling me my given name? Or have you decided
to become the queen?"

"Shut
your mouth!" Monks snapped. "With one phone call, Sam could be
back in prison and you would all go down for aiding and abetting!"

"Sorry,
didn't quite get that. 'S long words, see? We're only poor
street rats; there were an awful lot of long words there."

"If
you're so desperate to get Sam back in prison, then why have you
not made the call already?" Rose tossed back her blonde hair with a
smile. Monks hesitated. "Ha! I knew it!"

"We have
a proposition for you." Mickey said carefully. Dodger sat back in
an arm chair, cane resting over her knees and top hat pulled down.

"And
what makes you think we'd want to work with you?" Charlie sat on
one of the arms, Rose perched on the other. Toby and Nancy stood
protectively in front of her.

"Well,
the fact that you have a convicted serial rapist in your midst – an
escaped convict, come to that – may help a bit." Dodger made her
fingers steeple over her nose.

"What's
the job?" Rose ran a hand through her hair seductively.

"Well…
Ash is under threat from a gang of heavies; they caught him during
our last con. And they know everything we're doing, they're
crooked police officers. We need to take them down, once and for
all."

"What
would you need?" Nancy's violet eyes focused intently on Mickey,
who shifted slightly uncomfortably, despite the fact she hadn't
said anything.

"That is
the idea, yes." Mickey studied her face, but Dodger was an expert.

"I can
get you heavies…" Toby started.

"What?
You're going to work with them?" Nancy put a hand on Toby's
elbow, the most contact Bricks' Gang had ever seen her do.

"Unless
you fancy going under, Toby? Like I said, I can get you heavies, but
they'll be Russian. Charmers… that'll be a piece of cake. And a
forger? Nancy, would you be willing?" Dodger fixed her russet eyes
on the auburn haired girl. Nancy nodded slowly.

"So,
we're all agreed?" Mickey released the breath he'd been
holding.

"Yes, I
don't see why not… Charlie, can you get on the phone to The
Phantom's Children?" Dodger began to display her leadership
tactics. "Rose, I think we'll need… Sykes, and a couple of
others, can you think of anymore?"

"Fang?"
the blonde suggested. "And, what's in it for us?"

"We
don't ship your friend out to the police?" Mickey suggested.

"We'll
settle our price when the time comes… after all, you'll be
paying." Dodger stood up, signifying the end of the meeting.

-

I can't
remember any more Oliver Twist guys! Can you lot give me some names
lol?

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